Louis Delmas expected to play Sunday

Lions safety Louis Delmas didn’t practice on Friday, but that doesn’t appear to be an issue with him making his 2012 debut against the Eagles this Sunday.

Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports that Delmas looked fine running around the practice field during the portion of the session open to the media and that all indications are still positive for Delmas’ return. It has been a long wait for the Lions to get Delmas back into the lineup, but they don’t plan to push Delmas too far now that they finally have him back on the field.

“First game back, so we have to be patient with stuff a little bit,” Lions secondary coach Tim Walton said. “It’s his first one back, so you don’t want to overdo it. You got to let him get back in the flow a little bit.”

The Lions have struggled to adequately replace Delmas in the first four games, one of the reasons why they lost three of those contests. Even in a limited role, Delmas should give them a boost in the secondary with the promise of better days ahead as long as his knee remains sound.

The Lions have been talking a lot about getting back to what made them a playoff team last season. Getting back a player who helped them get to the postseason should be a step in the right direction.